No fairsies! I was going to buy that place!

A couple of times, on our trips to Ireland, my husband and I looked at property in Galway. We're city people, so we mostly poked around in the town of Galway, looking at condos. One time, we almost did buy something. Alas, nothing came of it. But the truth is that, if I were going to get a second home, I'd be leaning towards Ireland. 

Short of property purchase, I do have a vague plan of renting a place in Eire for a month - maybe next summer if things are back to normal and the EU countries are letting Americans in - which is also something that Jim and I had talked about doing. (Also a month in NYC, a month in Paris, a month in Berlin. Attention readers: don't put things off! You never know what's going to happen...)

Wherever I rent in Ireland (somewhat likely), wherever  I buy in Ireland (somewhat less likely), it will no doubt be in Galway, much my favorite place on that lovely green island.

Still, I couldn't help but be a bit green-eyed me-self when I read of a private island off the coast of Cork that was recently purchased, sight unseen except virtually, for $6.3 million, even if it wound't really be my thing.

Most of the transaction was transaction using WhatsApp.

So what's up with Horse Island? 

The island offers rugged green landscapes, a main house and several guest cottages overlooking the Atlantic Ocean...

It now offers a private pier for ferries and boats, a helipad, a games house and gym, a tennis court and a "shipwreck play house."

The self-contained destination also has its own electricity, water and sewage systems, and private roads that traverse the island.

The main house has 4,500 square feet of floor area and six bedrooms, while smaller guest houses are a short amble away. (Source: CNN)

This is an absolutely lovely spot, but I will make a couple of observations. All the pictures in the article show a rather sunny Ireland, including this one of a fancy looking chaise longue. In truth there are not all that many days in the year when you can sunbathe in Ireland. Which is actually a good thing, given the pasty whiteness - which I share - of most of the population. They need to be outdoors sunbathing on the terrace like they need the Brits to come back and reoccupy. Sure, there are many pretty, sunny days (go in September or late May for your best chance), but the weather can be pretty ghastly. Especially if you're on the Atlantic, where the only thing between you and Amerikay is ocean and wind. Weather can move in on your with almost shocking speed, before your very eyes. (Been there, experienced that.) 

Second, one of the charms of Ireland is the charms of Ireland: the people, the pubs, the shops, the restaurants (believe it or not, they can be wonderful), the bustle in the towns. If I were going to be isolated on an island, I'd want to to at least be one on which you could count on decent weather most of the time.

But we're in a time of pandemic, and sheltering in place with your bubble companions, away from the COVID carriers, sounds like a plenty good idea to those with money. 

While nearly all leisure travel was paused because of the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for private islands has risen.

Brokers and travel industry experts have said that since March, prospective buyers and renters around the world are showing an increased interest in escaping to an island exclusively for them.

Me? I'd be asking myself just why the population of the island of my dreams peaked at 137 in 1841, and dwindled to zero by the mid-1960's. I suppose that if you have $6.3M to spend on an island for your very own, you're not worried about scratching out an existence via subsistence farming and fishing. Or working in the copper mine that provided employment on Horse Island for a few decades in the 1800's. Still, I bet those fleeing natives were happy to get onto solid ground and into a town where there was something to do besides stare at the waves. 

But nowadays there is, presumably, Internet access. So there's always going to be entertainment. And I guess the new owners will be able to helicopter over to the mainland to stock up on groceries at Supervalu. And look in at a pub to see if there's a trad session on. 

But I'm also guessing that, however dire and prolonged the coronavirus pandemic ends up being, ain't no one going to want to spend the winter on a depopulated Irish island - even one with its own electricity and shipwreck playhouse.